The Blades of Magic
by TheLastKorosu
Summary: Take seven Konoha ANBU, two wandering ninja and shove them into hogwarts for a year. What will happen? Oh boy. it's going to be a looonng year. Sasusaku, Naruino, slight NejiTen and OCOC. takes place during Order of the Pheonix. read and review.
1. Chapter 1: Introductions and a mission

**Yo People! lots of writers seem to be doing HP Naruto crossovers, so i decided to try one. Inspired by the story 'Hogwarts ANBU' by Mayet, but i've tried to keep it as original as possible.**

**I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. if i did, i probably wouldn't be on this site in the first place.**

Dumbledore sat in his office in Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and wizardry, surrounded by immense piles of books, all filled with different kinds of spells of protection and enchantments. Sighing, he moved another book to the ever-growing pile on the right side of his desk. The headmaster was trying to find a way to protect his school and students from Voldemort and his death eaters. He looked up as there was a soft knock at his door.

"Come in" he said. A man with scars covering his face, a chunk of his nose missing, one magical eye and leaning on a stick came in. such was the entrance of Mad-Eye Moody.

"Alastor, the reason I've called you here is because I need ideas on how to keep this school safe for the year. Particularly Harry." Dumbledore sighed again.

"I can't seem to find anything that he wouldn't know how to bypass" Moody was silent as he went through all the options possible, until he came upon one that was very obscure, but might possibly work.

"There might be a way, but the staff probably won't like it." Said the scarred ex-Auror

"What?"

"You could contact the…Shinobi" Moody gulped slightly before uttering the last word, and with good reason. The shinobi were renowned for their ruthlessness in a battle, calling on abilities that were quite possibly out of the realm of normal, or even the most experienced wizard's capability. Moody had met a few of them some years back, and the way that one of them had just…_killed_ his opponent without mercy like that still haunted the wizard's memory. Dumbledore was lost in his thoughts as well. He knew of the shinobi's existence. Perhaps only ten people in the wizarding world knew that they existed, and two of those people were in this room. Every one else simply thought that they had either died out long ago, or were just a fairy tale to scare children with.

"We will contact the shinobi and see if they will help. Call the staff in here so I may explain the situation." Said Dumbledore, after much consideration.

"You'll need this" said Mad-eye, dropping a sheet of parchment on the desk.

"That's all the information we have on the shinobi, combined with my personal notes on them and their culture." Dumbledore nodded. The shinobi were _extremely_ good when it came to secrets and keeping them. As one of them said to Mad-eye

"A secret kept is a weapon against your enemies"

Dumbledore pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and began to write.

A few days later, In Konoha, two masked and cloaked figures were shaking their heads in shame at the sleeping form of their Hokage.

"You wake her up, dobe"

"Nuh-uh. I did it last time. It's your turn, teme"

"She likes you better than me."

"That won't stop her from punching me through the wall like last time, teme"

"Shut it, dobe" Naruto and Sasuke had made ANBU about a year ago, and had quickly established a reputation as quite possibly the best two ANBU since Kakashi had rejoined, and the best pair in combat, forming quite complex joint attacks with surprisingly little planning. It attested to their teamwork and friendship. Sasuke had come back to the village just over three years ago after killing his brother Itachi. He'd simply walked through Konoha's main gate and said

"I'm back" before collapsing from chakra exhaustion from getting there so quickly. He'd been placed under full ANBU observation for a year, until it became apparent that he wasn't going to betray Konoha again. He and Naruto had become friends quickly again, making ANBU together, and becoming the now legendary Fox and Snake. Nearly their entire year group was ANBU now. Only Hinata and Lee had remained chuunin, not because they weren't skilled enough, but they wanted to teach at the Academy, and help train the next generation.

"Wake her up, dobe"

"Fine then. You owe me one. Get ready to duck" Naruto took a deep breath.

"TSUNADE BAA-CHAANN! WEE'REE HEERREE!!" Yelled the blonde.

"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT, BRAT!!" the two ANBU swiftly ducked the heavy chair that went sailing through the door, nailing an unfortunate chuunin coming to see what the noise was.

"Mission complete, Hokage-sama." Said Sasuke, edging towards the door, in an attempt to make it out of the room before Tsunade decided to throw her desk as well.

"Oh. You can have a week of rest, as can all of the ANBU. Make sure you tell them" with a nod and two puffs of smoke, the elite ANBU disappeared. Just as the blond Hokage was about to go back to sleep an owl landed on her desk. The Hokage ignored it. Wait, an Owl? Sure there were owls in Konoha, but they weren't used as messengers like this one was. She grabbed the letter out of its beak, and opened it carefully. Not hearing any burning sounds she proceeded to pull out the contents. There, on parchment, written in green ink was a message. It read:

To the Current Hokage,

Konohagakure, Fire country

The Elemental Countries

Dear Hokage,

My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of a school in England. This school is called Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yes, it is a school for magic. However, I pose no threat to you, as I intend to hire some of your finest shinobi in order to help protect my school, and the students, especially one Harry Potter, from a dark wizard going by the name of Lord Voldemort. The mission will be for the entire school year, about ten months. Money is no object. Along with this letter, there will be a portkey, which is a magical transportation device, which will transport your men to a safe house, where Mr. Potter and his friends are currently staying. It will activate at exactly 6 pm on the third of August. If you accept this mission please send the owl back with your reply and how many men you are sending, as well as a brief summary of their skills so that I may know what they are capable of.

Yours truly,

Albus Dumbledore.

Tsunade sighed. She, like Dumbledore, knew of the existence of wizards, but refused to contact them, as they had strange ideas about their powers and some of them tended to be elitist. Nonetheless, she wrote that nine members would be coming, scribbled a brief explanation of their respective skills, put the letter in the owl's beak and then threw said bird out the window. She watched as the bird recovered from the shock and flapped towards its destination.

"Shizune! Get Fox, Snake, Cat, Bird, Deer, Boar, Scarecrow, Dragon and Blade to assemble in my office in three hours!"

"Hai Tsunade-sama!" yelled the black haired medic nin, and rushed out of the room.

**Well, there's the first Chapter up, hope you enjoyed it.**

**Read and review, as usual. Also, visit my profile, as there's a poll for what kind of story i should do next. if you have any other ideas, PM me.**

**IamtheReaper, signing off.**


	2. Chapter 2: Travel, and Meetings

**IamtheReaper: Well, Here's chapter two. Now, Kakashi, if you would be so kind?**

**Kakshi: Why should I?**

**IamtheReaper: Because if you don't, I'll nail you to a chair and lock you in a room with Gai for an entire day.**

**Kakashi: sweatdrop IamtheReaper does not own any part of Harry Potter or Naruto.**

"Hello" -speaking in english

_"Hello"_-Speaking in japanese

Last Time on Blades of Magic

_"Shizune! Get Fox, Snake, Cat, Bird, Deer, Boar, Scarecrow, Dragon and Blade to assemble in my office in three hours!"_

_"Hai Tsunade-sama!" yelled the black haired medic nin, and rushed out of the room._

End Flashback

Three hours later there were eight ANBU in the Hokage's office. The only one missing was Scarecrow.

"I told you he'd be late, Sasuke"

"Baka, he's always late, even when he's the one who told us to meet." Tsunade was getting irritated by now.

Poof! "Sorry I'm late, but an old man needed help tending to his garden, so I stopped to help"

"YOU LIE!" yelled Sakura and Naruto simultaneously. Kakashi sweatdropped.

"Now that we're all here, I can start the mission briefing" said Tsunade.

Five minutes, three sweatdrops and four hundred and sixty three bottles of sake later (How Tsunade manages to drink that much without dying of alcohol poisoning we'll never know)

"Magic?! You expect us to believe that wizards and witches not only exist, but that we're supposed to guard a school for them for an entire year?! That's less believable than Kakashi's excuses!" Yelled Sakura and Ino, or Cat and Boar while in ANBU gear respectively. Kakashi looked around nervously.

"Yes" was the only reply from Tsunade

"The Portkey-a magical transportation device- will take you to a safe house at exactly six pm tonight, so you have until then to pack and say your goodbyes. Be in my office at exactly 5:50 pm, and Scarecrow?"

"Yes?"

"If you're even five minutes late, I'll throw you to England, without your book" 

Kakashi wept at the thought of being without his book for an entire year. One of the shinobi, whose mask had a crossed sword design with the kanji for 'battle' on the top, began to chuckle at the thought.

"Go and get ready, then" the nine ANBU departed from the hokage's office.

Naruto and Sasuke were currently living in a new apartment near the Hokage tower, after all, being two of Konoha's best often meant that they got only a few hours rest between missions, so they had bought an apartment practically next to the tower, and always had supplies ready for even long-term missions such as this one. They spent their time eating a last few bowls of ramen at Ichiraku's, before leaving to pack and refill their supplies.

Sakura had spent her last few hours making sure her medical kit was full, sealed a few medical textbooks into a scroll so she could keep learning while away. Then, she walked around the hospital one last time before saying goodbye to the duty nurse and walked out of the hospital.

Neji walked slowly to the Hyuuga compound. His mind was thinking about how Hinata-sama would take the news. Hiashi had grown old in the last few years, and his health had deteriorated. Hinata had gradually taken over running the clan and was now clan head in all but name, as Hiashi was confined to a bed.

"How long, Neji-san?" was her question when he told her that he was leaving for a mission.

"Just over ten months"

"Be safe"

"I will, Hinata-sama" the prodigy then left the compound, and headed to another building.Heading to an apartment near the top floor, he knocked on the door, to be confronted by a bun headed girl.

"Neji-kun!" Tenten yelled. She quietened down when she saw his downcast expression.

"I'm leaving for a long term mission. I'll be gone for over ten months"

"I'll miss you" they cuddled for a while before Neji had to leave.

Shikamaru played a few last games of shogi with Chouji, watched the clouds for a while and then left for the tower.

Ino headed over to the interrogation squad HQ, and walked up to Ibiki's door, knocked three times, waited four seconds, and then opened the door.

"Ibiki-sensei, I'm leaving on a ten month long mission"

"Ah. I see. Looks like it's going to be boring around here for a while. I'll have no one to embarrass. Here, take this" Ino was confused. Never had Ibiki given her a gift. Ever. Even though he treated her like a surrogate daughter ever since her father had died. Curious, she opened it. Two things were inside. One was a thick leather bound book, with the title "Torture and Interrogation techniques: How to Keep your prisoner alive, in Maximum pain, and get information. By Morino Ibiki, and co-written with Yamanka Ino"

"It was published? When?"

"First copy came out today. Look inside the cover." There was a small message. 'you've come a long way since your first Chuunin exams. You will go further. Morino Ibiki'

"Aww, you're sweet"

"Look at the other item" the other item was a small scroll, with blue edging. She unrolled it. Inside was writing. She read it. Then she read it again. Finally, after reading it for the third time, she stared at Ibiki.

"You can't be serious"

"But I am. Let me be the first to congratulate you, my second-in-command, and authorized field interrogator, Yamanka Ino"

"Ibiki-sensei, I, I honestly don't know what to say"

"Good. Don't you have a mission to prepare for?" she nodded and then left the building to sounds of clapping and cheering. Ibiki had evidently told everyone about her promotion.

Lee-Anne and Martyn each had their own way of preparing for a mission. For Lee-Anne, this was to meditate and calm her mind. She couldn't perform her highly powerful genjutsu if she wasn't calm. Martyn was debating loudly in the corridor of their small house about which swords to take and how many. Finally, he decided on three swords. He took a large zanbato style sword, named Nightshade, and a sword that looked similar to Scorpion's Mugai Ryu from MK, which he had named 'the Hell Sword' because it inflicted very large and painful wounds on who ever was unfortunate enough to get in his way. The final sword was an unnamed katana, which was slightly longer than normal, and seemed to be molded to fit along the outer edge of Martyn's forearm.

"Lee-Anne! Time to go!" yelled Martyn when he was done. They pulled on their cloaks, respective masks and packs, and headed towards the Hokage tower.

The nine ANBU stood in front of the Hokage's desk, staring at an old boot that was lying of the desk.

"That's the Portkey?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"Yep" replied Tsunade. "You all have to hold onto it for it to work"

The nine ANBU, with much struggling and shifting managed to all get a grip on the boot, Martyn even going as far as balancing one-handed on the desk with his left hand, and grabbing the boot with his right. After a few seconds, the ANBU felt an unpleasant jerk just behind their naval, and were soon flying through nothingness.

In England, at number 12, in Gimmauld place, the wizards and witches within were settling down to lunch, when suddenly,

"Oh Merlin's beard! I almost forgot! There will be some new guests in the house. They're guards for the school for this year. Ron, grab nine more plates. They arrive at 1 pm." Exclaimed Lupin

"But that's now!" cried Molly Weasley. As Molly said the word 'now' there were eight thumps, and a shick, followed by what sounded like prolific swearing in another language. The guests had evidently arrived. The wizards were confronted with a strange sight. Nine people were suddenly in the kitchen, seven of them were standing on the floor, one was sitting calmly on the mantelpiece, and the last was standing on the biggest sword that the wizards had ever seen. All of them were wearing either black, white or beige cloaks that covered their entire bodies, and all of them had white masks with animal designs on them.

"Bloody hell" came the intelligent comment from Ron.

The shinobi were currently talking amongst them selves in Japanese

_"Is Everyone OK?"_ asked Scarecrow or Kakashi as he was known outside of ANBU.

_"Blade, get Nightshade out of the damn wall." _

_"Fine, taichou"_ muttered the Figure on the sword. He slid off it onto the floor, and then like it was the easiest thing in the world, pulled the blade out of the wall, and slid it into its holster on his back, and fastened it in place. Dragon or Lee-Anne hopped off the mantle piece.

"Are these people supposed to protect the school? They look weird. Can they even speak English?" said Ron, blunt as ever. Kakashi sighed.

"Yes, we can speak English, and let me assure you, we will be completely capable of protecting your school." His voice was completely understandable, but had a slight oriental accent.

"I will introduce the team to you after we receive the full details, which, I have been informed, some one here has…"

"Oh, sorry. Here you go" said Lupin, handing a green edged scroll to Kakashi. The ANBU captain swiftly read it, and then nodded silently.

"OK. My name is Scarecrow, and I am the team's captain" he pulled down his cloak to reveal silver, or was it grey? Hair that seemed to defy gravity itself Harry noticed.

"This is Cat, and she is the team's medic." Another hood dropped to reveal nothing less than bright pink hair on Cat. She nodded politely in greeting.

"Next, we have Deer, and Boar." Said Scarecrow. Two more hoods dropped to show that deer had dark hair that was done in a fashion that resembled a pineapple, and Boar had longish platinum blonde hair.

"They are the team's strategist, and intelligence expert respectively. This is Bird…" another one of the guards pulled down his head to reveal dark brown hair, tied loosely at the bottom "He is my second-in-command. If you want to ask a question of us, talk to either Bird or myself. Don't expect an answer though. You won't always get one" the wizards exchanged looks.

"Next are Snake and Fox. They are the main combat power of the team, and are easily two of the best back home." The two guards nodded, and pulled down their hoods. Snake, Harry noticed, had black hair that stuck up at the back, and Fox had blonde hair that seemed to go everywhere.

"Finally, we have Dragon." Scarecrow motioned to the guard that had been sitting on the fireplace, who pulled down her hood to reveal shoulder length brown hair, tied back in a ponytail. She was about five foot ten in height, and seemed to be reasonably fit. "Dragon is mostly support for her partner, the last of our team, who goes by the name of Blade" here scarecrow motioned to the last of the guards, who took off his hood to reveal rough black hair, tied loosely in a ponytail. He stood at about seven feet tall, and the massive sword was on his back. He nodded politely.

"Blade is again combat, but is technically the team's assassin" finished Scarecrow. Predictably, there was a moment of dead silence.

"ASSASSIN?!?!" was the deafening yell from the wizards.

_"Pay up, scarecrow." _

"Shut it, Blade"

"So we're going to be guarded by an assassin for an entire year?" yelled Hermione. Harry and Ron just stared.

"Do you have a problem with that, missy?" said Scarecrow

"Yes! What's to stop him from sneaking in and murdering us in our beds at night?"

Scarecrow looked towards Blade, who suddenly seemed to be entertaining himself by counting the nails in the ceiling

_"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen…"_the shinobi murmured softly. Kakashi sighed again.

"The reason he won't murder you is because there is nothing to be gained from your murder for him. It's that simple" said Kakashi. Hermione looked shocked that they could talk about killing and murder like it was an everyday occurrence for them. She didn't know how close to the truth this was.

"Now, where are we sleeping?" he asked Lupin.

"There are three empty rooms upstairs, and when I say empty, I mean empty. There isn't even a bed in them."

"That's fine. Three people to a room. Fight it out amongst yourselves" he said to the others.

"Would you like some lunch, dears?" asked Molly. All the shinobi nodded and sat down at one end of the table, leaving the wizards at the other. Harry and his friends quickly realized that these guards were not sociable people, as they were conversing amongst them selves rather than try and hold a conversation with their charges. Harry tried to think of a suitable topic for starting a conversation.

"So, uh, Blade, why do you carry that sword around with you? Wouldn't it slow you down?"

The ANBU froze at the question, before one of them, Fox, Harry realized, said something.

_"He has less tact than I do. Even I'm smart enough to not ask a direct question like that"_ several of the shinobi laughed softly at fox's remark, then turned to see what Blade's response would be.

"Ask me no questions, and I'll tell you no lies…" he said in that strange voice of his, that sounded like cloth being drawn over rock, and almost always sounded indifferent. Harry, dissatisfied with this answer, tried another way.

"Why are you called the team's 'assassin'?" he asked, bluntly.

"'Cause I kill people. Plain and simple" responded Blade, without looking around.

"Are all you people like this?" asked to no one in particular

"Yes" was the instant response from all nine guards. Blade went back to counting nails, only this time in English.

"One hundred and one, one hundred and two, one hundred and three…"

"What on earth are you doing?" exclaimed Hermione

"Counting nails. One hundred and ten, a hundred and eleven, a hundred and twelve…"

"Why are you counting nails?" asked Ron

"Because it's more entertaining than counting your brain cells. I can do that on one hand. A hundred and twenty, a hundred and twenty-one…" Several ANBU snickered at the remark, and Ron's ears went red. Even some of the wizards were snickering until…

"When I say your brain cells, I'm talking about all of you wizards. You've got less than five brain cells between you. One hundred and thirty, one hundred and thirty one…" Fox was unable to contain himself. He burst out laughing. It proved infectious, soon all the ANBU were laughing, with the exception of Sasuke and Neji, but they were grinning under their masks.

"Didn't your parents teach you manners?" yelled Hermione "It's not nice to insult people like that!" all laughter dropped instantly.

Blade suddenly stood up, and walked out of the room. Hermione looked confused.

"Blade has no family."

Hermione looked a the speaker, one of the ANBU, Snake, she remembered.

"What?" said Harry

"Blade saw his entire family murdered at the age of six, right in front of his eyes. Ever since, he's lived on his own" everyone was silent as Snake revealed this peice of information.

"Oh my god..." whispered Hermione "I had no Idea..."

"he Knows that, which is probably why you're not dead right now." Hermione looked shocked at the casual mention of death. An awkward silence followed.

Time passed quickly in the house, with the shinobi helping out around the house, trying to clean it out. Several times, they had to stop not only Kreacher, But Blade from sneaking off with various objects, with the latter trying to make off with ancient weapons. All too soon, it was time for the wizards to go back to school. If only they could predict how eventful this year would be...

**Another Chapter over.**

**Read and review.**

**And Happy belated Birthday to Shino.**

**Shino: ...**

**Me: What? I've been busy.**


	3. To Hogwarts!

**And welcome to the third chapter. i have been mostly concentrating on my other major fic, Master of Battle, which has undergone major revisions. On with the fic!**

**I don't own Naruto or Harry Potter. if i did, Itachi would have owned Sasuke in their final fight, and the Akatsuki would take over the world.**

"Hello" -speaking in english

_"Hello"_-Speaking in japanese

Last Time on Blades of Magic...

Time passed quickly in the house, with the shinobi helping out around the house, trying to clean it out. Several times, they had to stop not only Kreacher, But Blade from sneaking off with various objects, with the latter trying to make off with ancient weapons. All too soon, it was time for the wizards to go back to school. If only they could predict how eventful this year would be...

End Flashback

_"Genjutsu?"_ asked Kakashi. He and Lee-Anne were currently standing in the crowded hallway of Sirius's house, discussing how they could get onto the platform without being seen.

_"That might work. It would be easy as well. Once we're on the platform, we would drop it"_ Said Lee-Anne

"Look out!" yelled Molly Weasley, as a heavy trunk came tumbling down the stairs, heading straight for Ginny. She didn't move fast enough. Fortunately for her, Snake did, easily grabbing her, and leaping up onto the wall, out of harm's way. The wizard's eyes widened at this display of speed, and even further when Snake stuck to the wall with no effort, before leaping back to the floor, landing effortlessly and putting Ginny back down.

"T...Thanks" stuttered Ginny.

"Hn." Was all Snake offered for a reply, before he walked over to Kakashi and Lee-Anne.

_"So, have we agreed?" _asked Snake

_"Yes. We'll put a genjutsu around us until we get on platform...9 and ¾, I think it is."_ Said Lee-Anne. The others nodded. They soon left for the station. As they arrived, Lee-Anne moved her hands under her cloak in a swift seal sequence and drew on her chakra for a simple cloaking genjutsu. A slight shimmer around the shinobi indicated the technique was a success.

_"Nice One, Dragon" _Said Snake, as they walked after their young charges. Scarecrow walked up to them.

_"We go through the wall"_ hesaid, pointing to where the wizards had just disappeared. As they watched, another one of the Weasley children ran through the wall like it wasn't there.

_"There must be some kind of genjutsu on the wall, to keep the non-wizards from noticing it."_ Said Lee-Anne, as they too walked through the wall.

* * *

Harry didn't notice when the Guards disappeared. They just seemed to be there one moment and not be there the next. Harry hadn't even seen a glimmer of magic. Just what were these guards? He turned around to find that they were just getting on the train, having appeared out of nowhere. Harry and his friends found an empty compartment and closed the door. The guards stood in the corridor, discussing various things.

_"Snake, Bird. I want you two to patrol the train. Cat, Take Blade and keep in close contact with Harry"_ said Scarecrow, as the shinobi got on the train. Cat roughly grabbed Blade's Arm and yanked him towards Harry's compartment.

_"Itaiiiiii!!"_ the shinobi's cry of mock pain trailed off. Scarecrow shook his head slightly. And to think that Blade could kill off half of Konoha in a single day if he tried hard.

Hermione Looked up as the compartment door opened, revealing two of the guards. She identified them as Blade and Cat. The former was nursing a sore wrist, and the latter seemed to giving a look that said 'get over it'. They moved in and sat down silently. Cat pulled out a medical scroll, while Blade settled for spinning one of his 'Assassin Knives' around his hand while the wizards talked. Underneath their masks, the two shinobi's eyes were constantly flicking to exit routes. After a while, the door opened again to reveal a blonde haired boy, who currently had a superior smirk on his face and a prefect badge for Slytherin on his robes. Both of the shinobi watched the swift argument between Harry and this new boy with interest, until Malfoy noticed them sitting there.

"Oh, it's more of those freaks that I saw walking around the corridors. Bet they can't even cast a Stunning spell" he smirked

"Will you shut up, Malfoy?" retorted Harry

"You're right. We can't cast a, what was it…stunning spell." Replied Blade, the knife never once pausing as it suddenly spun onto the back of his hand, twirled three times, and then, with a flick of his wrist, the knife went spinning up into the air, before he caught it gracefully between two fingers.

"Stupid MudBloods. It's this kind of trash that gives Wizards a bad name"

"But then again, why stun someone when it would be far easier to just kill them?" said Blade, calmly. Cat looked up from her scroll.

"Huh?" was the reaction from all the wizards.

"Tell me, Malfoy, was it? What would you say if I told you that I could kill you before you even noticed that I'd moved?"

"I'd say that you're bluffing. No one can move that fast." Blade nodded

"We'll see" Blade suddenly blurred out of the range of visible sight. Malfoy seemed to spasm a moment later, before falling backwards. Blade reappeared, standing over Malfoy, a knife in his right hand, slowly dripping blood.

"Cat-san, what do you think of my work?" he said, motioning to Malfoy. Cat came over, and immediately had to restrain herself from bursting out into laughter. The word 'Idiot' had been skillfully cut into Malfoy's forehead.

"Blade-san?"

"Yes?"

"This is your best one yet" laughed Cat

"Thank you. I was going to write 'arrogant Bastard who deserves to be publicly humiliated', but there wasn't enough room" Blade said mildly. That did it for Cat. She was soon rolling on the floor, trying not to die of laughter.

"If there was a weapon that could cut someone's ego, I wouldn't need to aim with this guy. Even Snake's Ego wasn't that big, and I think we both agree that he had an ego the size of Konoha itself." Cat nodded while still rolling on the floor. Martyn looked down at Malfoy.

"I Think I win, boy. I can move that fast, and you could be dead right now."

"You just wait until my father hears about this! He'll get you for this!"

Blade yawned and took a leaf out of Kakashi's book.

"You say something?"

"YEEAARRGHH!" screamed Malfoy and stalked out of the compartment, followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

"Well, that was mildly interesting" Commented Blade, sitting back down, and pulling out a scroll labelled 'Advanced Fuuinjutsu' and beginning to take notes on another scroll. After a few more hours, the train suddenly came screeching to a halt. Blade and Cat were quickly on their feet.

_"Scarecrow, what's happening?"_

_"There's a group blocking the tracks."_

_"Intentions?" _put in Cat.

_"Probably not good."_

_"Permission to use lethal force?"_ asked Blade. A slight pause. Blade, not officially being a Konoha shinobi, had to ask for permission to kill.

_"Granted. And Blade?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Wipe them out. All of them. Fox and Snake are already getting ready to move"_ Martyn nodded, and grinned underneath his mask. Cat, seeing Blade getting ready to move, opened the window and stood back. With a brief rush of wind, and a roar of laughter, Blade rushed out the window.

Outside the Train…

Blade had drawn Nightshade and it was being held in his left hand as he used his feet and other hand to propel himself along the side of the carriage, while Fox and Snake raced along the top.

_"Shall we go with the flashy entrance, or the stealthy one?" said Naruto._

_"Hn. Flashy."_

_"Do you really need to ask, Fox?"_

_"Alright. Here's the order. Snake, Fox, Blade. GO!"_ Snake Moved first. As he jumped across a gap between carriages, he suddenly vanished in a bolt of lightning, which then chained across the rest of the train at an alarming rate. Fox seemed to just…melt…into the wind, as it whipped around his face. Blade caused several first-years to jump when he vanished in a swirl of black flame outside their window, which swiftly dissipated. At the front of the Train, several wizards, controlled by the Imperius curse, and two death eaters, were pointing their wands at the train.

"Bring out the Boy Who Lived, and we may just let you live!" one of the Death Eaters called. That was when a bolt of lightning struck just in front of the train. As the smoke thinned, Snake could be seen standing there, lightning crackling around his body with the familiar sound of 1000 birds chirping and his Chokuto drawn and held horizontally in front of him in a reverse grip.

"Those who prey on the weak are the lowest kind of scum, right, Fox?" There was a rush of wind, and Fox faded into view, sword over his head, glowing slightly.

"Indeed, Snake, they are. But perhaps we should ask our comrade. What do you think, Blade?" there was a blast of heat, and Blade stepped out of a whirlwind of black flame, Nightshade resting on his left shoulder.

"Doesn't really matter, does it? Can we kill them now?"

"Who the hell are you to think you can stop us?" yelled a Death Eater. The three ninja were currently playing Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who was going first.

"Oi! Pay attention!"

"Ha ha, you lose, Snake!"

"You lost as well, Fox"

"This means…"

"Crap." They said in unison.

"Hey, Blade, leave some for us!"

"First come, first served! Come and get me, you wizard scum!"

"Shit." Whispered Snake.

"How true." Replied Fox. Blade charged as one of the Death eaters began a spell.

**"Avada Ke-**aaargghh!" Nightshade swung as the Death eater began to perform the killing curse, but was stopped by the loss of his hand. The Other Death Eater was faster, and aimed at the other two.

**"Avada Kedava!"** he screamed. Snake Vanished in a flash of lightning, and Fox blended with the wind again, just as the curse hit the front of the train. The wizards never knew what had hit them, and in their controlled state, they never had a chance to react to some of the fastest attacks that the shinobi world could offer. One went down with a Chidori to the chest, and another met their end with a Rasengan to the head delivered at high speed.

Blade slashed another Imperiused wizard in two, as Nightshade began to glow a deep purple. The massacre was complete in less than three minutes, with only the lone Death Eater who had the use of both his hands left. He was desperately firing off curse after curse, which the three shinobi avoided with disturbing ease.

"W-Who are you?!" he yelled, as he fell backwards.

"Blade, now." Said Fox. The Black haired swordsman vanished, only to reappear behind the wizard, and swiftly restrained him.

"Who are you working for?" asked Snake, holding his blade to the Death Eater's throat. The only reply he got was a glob of spit in his face, or rather, mask. He slowly wiped it off with his free hand.

"You'll pay for that…" he said slowly, letting out his killing Intent. Blade let the wizard go and backed off. The Wizard smirked under his mask.

He vanished in a swirl of darkness. "Lord Voldemort will get you for this…"

Blade snorted under his mask.

"Like I'm scared of some pitiful _wizard_" he growled, before vanishing in a swirl of black flame. Snake and Fox sighed simultaneously, before they vanished.

"Well, how did it go?" asked Scarecrow, back in the carriage.

"Easy." Replied Snake. "They never knew what hit them, but one got away"

Scarecrow sighed.

"Oh well, at least the tracks are clear." The train was soon moving again.

Harry stared at the two shinobi. Just what were these guards?

_"What did I tell you? This mission was not going to be easy, you know. Now our enemy knows about us!"_

_"Good. I prefer fighting people who don't know what we are."_

_"You're impossible"_

_"I try."_ Cat threw her arms up, frustrated with the black haired shinobi. Blade sat back down, picking up his scroll again, grinning slightly.

"Honestly, Cat, you could have taken them with your eyes closed"

"What did they do?"

"They just pointed their little sticks at us and said avana kerava or something like that."

"Avada Kedava?!" choked Harry

"Yeah, that was it. Didn't look very powerful"

"Yeah, but how long have you known Fox?"

"…Point taken" both the shinobi lapsed into silence until the train stopped at the end of the line. Then they got up, and ushered the young wizards out of the train, where the other guards were waiting.

_"So, What do we do now?"_ asked Fox as they stood around, waiting for another carriage.

_"It's obvious, dobe. We go into the castle and guard the students."_

_"Besides that."_

_"I don't know, sort out security and other rules?"_

_"What the fuck is that?"_ said Blade, pointing at the spectral horse pulling the carriage.

"No Idea." Said Cat. "But it looks like not everyone can see them." She elaborated by pointing to some of the other students that didn't even seem to notice the weird horses.

_"I'm not getting a carriage pulled by that." _Said Blade. _"I'll walk."_

_"Suit yourself, Blade" _said Snake, getting into the carriage. Blade was able to keep up at a swift jog, and frequently answered questions from the occupants, to the surprise of Harry and Hermione.

Once all the guards had arrived at the Castle, they were met by a stern looking woman who looked them up and down, before motioning for them to follow her. Shrugging, they did so.

"You will wait here until the headmaster introduces you to the school. In case you are wondering, my name is Professor Minerva McGonagall" Scarecrow nodded in acknowledgment as the woman left.

**and there's the third Chapter finished. sorry this took so long, but I had other things that needed to get done.**

**As usual, read and reveiw.**

**IamtheReaper, signing off.**


	4. Some More Introductions

**I don't own Naruto, or Harry potter. however, i do own Martyn, and Lee-Anne, along with my imagination.**

"Hello" -speaking in english

_"Hello"_-Speaking in japanese

Last Time on Blades of Magic...

"You will wait here until the headmaster introduces you to the school. In case you are wondering, my name is Professor Minerva McGonagall" Scarecrow nodded in acknowledgment as the woman left.

End Flashback

Inside the Great Hall, the feast was just finishing. The plates cleared magically, and Dumbledore had stood up to speak.

"The full list of banned items can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office. We also have two changes in staff this year. Professor Grubbly-Plank, who is taking over for Professor Hagrid's Care of Magical creatures class, and Professor Umbridge, the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. Now, although certain people refuse to accept the facts," Dumbledore seemed to give a pointed look towards Umbridge at this point "A certain Dark Lord has indeed returned to power, so I have decided to hire some guards for the school this year. Please make them welcome!" Dumbledore's mind was going over the description of the shinobi that The Hokage had sent him.

'Scarecrow, the team's captain and an accomplished shinobi, well-versed in many areas of fighting. Bird, A Member of the prestigious Hyuuga Clan, and possessor of the 'Byakugan'. Cat, accomplished Medic, trained by the Hokage herself. Deer, A genius with an IQ of over 200 and an exceptional strategist. Fox had been described as loud, hyperactive and Konoha's Number 1 Unpredictable Ninja. Also exceedingly strong. The next was Snake, described as the exact opposite in personality to Fox, but possibly the only one who had a hope in hell of beating the other. Next was Boar, a shinobi that specialized in Information gathering and interrogation. Then there was the ever mysterious Dragon, who specialized in supporting other shinobi in combat. Finally, the last one was called Blade, whose description was very short. 'Do not provoke. Is highly skilled at assassination'. As Dumbledore finished his mental description of the shinobi, there was a large smoke bomb set off at the front of the hall, which left many students coughing. As the smoke cleared, the wizards were confronted with the strangest sight that many of them had ever seen. Nine figures were arranged along the front of the room, each in various poses. Two of the ones on the left, as you looked at the scene from the entrance were balanced easily on top of one another. The bottom one was spread-legged, with his left hand extending towards the ground, and his right grabbing it. The top one was standing there, with his hand on a sword hilt. On the right of them, another figure was standing in some strange stance, arms outstretched, palms facing up. The figure in the middle looked like the leader, and he was just standing there with his arms folded. Behind him, an immense sword was stuck in the marble floor, perfectly vertical. Its wielder was balanced on the top, left foot on the sword, right foot up behind him. His left hand was out in front of him, in a one handed guard, while his right hand was clutching a katana so that the blade was facing outwards and back along his arm. The figure just beside the leader on the right was kneeling on one knee, with his hands forming a square shape. The next two figures were standing back to back, the one on the left had a knife in each hand and the right one had their fist pulled back for a punch. The final figure was kneeling, hand braced on the ground.

There was a sound of clapping, as Dumbledore showed his appreciation. Soon all the young wizards joined in. the middle figure nodded slightly, and the nine figures relaxed, the one on top of the sword simply sitting down on the base of the immense blade.

"Now that they are here, I will introduce you to these guards. Their leader is called Scarecrow. The others are called Fox, Snake, Bird, Blade, Deer, Boar, Cat and Dragon. Each of the shinobi stepped forwards or nodded as Dumbledore said their names.

"Now, these guards, in discussion and agreement with me have decided on a few new rules for this year and they are: each class is to be accompanied with one of these guards or by a teacher to their next lesson. Next, you are to treat them with the same respect as your teachers, and if they tell you to do something, you do it without question. Scarecrow has assured me that they will not use this privilege to get you to bring them drinks, but that if you annoy them, they might tell you to be quiet. And as one last warning, I advise you not to do any thing that might provoke them, or give them reason to hurt you!" Dumbledore admonished the students. The guards moved to the side of the room and began to talk amongst themselves about the mission.

_"So, who's going to do what? Any ideas?"_ asked Scarecrow.

_"We should have at least one person with Harry's class at all times"_ murmured Deer.

_"We can decide who later. Who's going to watch the grounds at night? Because I'm not doing it during both day and night" _said Bird.

_"I'll take night watch. My other abilities might come in handy there"_ said Blade. All the guards nodded.

_"One of the teachers said that we'd be staying on the fourth floor, third corridor on the right hand side. Any ideas for a password?"_ said Scarecrow

_"Ramen!"_ said Naruto

_"No, dobe. Too obvious. How about something like bijuu" _said Sasuke.

_"Again, too obvious, snake. How's this? Shade of Night"_ said Blade. Scarecrow looked around their little circle

_"Shade of Night it is, then. Now, Dumbledore-sama said we should take care of the other house's passwords as well. Now we need four unrelated words." _Continued Scarecrow when there were no objections "_what comes first to mind?"_

_"Healing"_ said Cat

_"Ramen!"_ exclaimed Fox

_"Revenge"_ said Snake, calmly

_"Fate"_ Bird added

_"Interrogation"_ grinned Boar

_"Deception"_ Dragon put in

_"Troublesome…Shadows"_ said Deer

_"Icha Icha Paradise"_ said Scarecrow, pervertedly.

_"Death"_ said Blade.

_"I think we should use Fate, shadows, healing, and deception. Ramen is too obvious, and interrogation, and death would scare the squirts out of their wits. And Icha Icha paradise, just…no, Scarecrow" _said Cat. _"We don't need you spoiling their minds with your friggin' porn, so no reading while on duty."_

Just then, a woman, who looked suspiciously like a toad, walked up to the group and spoke in a high, girlish voice.

"Excuse me, but which one of you is the leader?"

Scarecrow turned around.

"I am" within seconds he regretted his decision to answer this…thing.

_"Hey, Fox, did you summon a pink toad before and henge it into semi human form? 'Cause she looks like that"_ Fox shook his head, while trying not to laugh at the idea.

"Blade, you take care of this. I need to do things"

_"Fine, you go read your porn, Scarecrow. I'll take care of the pink horror"_

_"No blood, Blade. See you in the dorm later."_ And with that, Scarecrow poofed off, leaving Blade to deal with the 'Pink Horror' as he'd dubbed her. On reflection, it proved to be highly accurate.

"Can. You. Hear. Me?" now she was speaking in a child-like voice, and making gestures in an attempt to get Blade's attention.

"Rather unfortunately, yes, I can hear and understand you" said Blade

"Would you please remove your mask, so I can see who I'm talking to?" Umbridge said in that sickly sweet girly voice of hers. Blade felt like throwing up.

"No" was all he said.

"Why not?"

"Because, a secret kept is a weapon against your enemies" said Blade.

"Just please tell me who you are. Even a first name will do, dear"

"You will address me by the name that Dumbledore called me. If it was good enough for him, it's good enough for you, bitch" said Blade, and began to walk off.

"What did you call me?" said Umbridge, all niceness gone. She was even producing a tiny impression of killing intent.

"A bitch." Said Blade. He smiled under the mask "Bitch" he added. Umbridge was livid.

"How Dare you…" she was cut off, almost literally, by an exceedingly large sword, which was now resting under her chin. Blade had a slightly insane grin on his face underneath his mask as he pushed the blade up until it was about to draw blood.

"Now, you are going to listen to me, or you will die in a particularly messy manner. Do we understand each other?" Umbridge nodded nervously

"I don't care who or what you are in this world. To me, you are another potential target. You live, breathe and eventually, you will die. You'd better pray that it will be a natural death, and not by my hand." And Blade walked off.

"Honestly, wizards and their fucking self importance." Murmured Blade, loud enough for the entire staff table to hear. He disappeared off. After Umbridge made her speech, the shinobi gathered to escort the young wizards back to their respective dorms. Dragon and Blade were escorting Gryffindor. Blade had arrived just before the houses left, panting slightly. Dragon instantly recognized that he was getting more unstable again, but swiftly put these thoughts aside. They soon arrived with the Prefects at the front, and Dragon standing easily on the railing of the stairs, and Blade bringing up the rear.

"Password?" said The Fat Lady

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia" Said Ron. The Portrait didn't budge. Dragon hopped off the railing next to Ron

"Move it, Redhead." Dragon roughly shoved Ron out of the way.

"Password?" repeated The Fat Lady

"Kages"

"Correct" Said the portrait, swinging aside to let the students into the common room. Once they were all inside, the two guards left for the fourth floor, and soon found themselves in front of a portrait of an assassin wearing all black and holding a sword.

"Password?" it growled.

"Shade of night" Dragon replied. The portrait swung aside, allowing both shinobi to enter. Kakashi and the others were already there, masks and cloaks off. Martyn swiftly raised his mask and tossed it into one of the remaining rooms, but leaving his cloak on. He looked around, and picked a spot next to the wall where he could sit. Lee-Anne took off her cloak and mask in the last room before sitting down opposite Shikamaru.

"Alright, now that we're all here, we need to discuss the mission in more detail." Said Kakashi, flipping a page of his little orange book.

"First, we need to decide if we're going to have the same person following Harry's class, or alternate between people. Suggestions?" he finished.

"Make it random, and change the person every day." Said Shikamaru, moving a shogi piece.

"Shika's got a good idea. That way, if this Voldemort guy decides to attack, he won't know which of us he's facing." Said Boar while rummaging around in her backpack.

"Got it!" she called, pulling out a book

"That's Ibiki's book" said Snake, recognizing the cover.

"I co-wrote it, especially the chapter on seduction, seeing as Ibiki has no idea how to flirt" smiled Ino

"Way to go Ino-chan!" cheered Naruto.

"Now, we agreed that Martyn and Neji would watch the grounds, because of their unique eyesight and other…talents" said Kakashi, flipping another page.

"What about the Hogsmeade weekends?"

"That village is a tactical nightmare. Cancel them. We can't defend the brats in the village, full stop" said Lee-Anne, moving another shougi piece.

"If we can get Fox to cover the village with his Bunshin, would it help?" said Shikamaru. While the lazy ninja was a genius, Lee-Anne was also a natural at strategy, and had more experience than him.

"Not much. While we'd have a better coverage of the village, they may end up getting in the way."

"I see your point" conceded Shikamaru, moving another piece, and causing Lee-Anne to frown in thought.

"So, no Hogsmeade weekends for the moment. Now, other duties. Door guards."

"Easy." Said Lee-Anne, pausing to move one of her shogi pieces, forcing Shikamaru to assume his 'thinking pose'

"Me, Shikamaru and either Ino or Sakura"

"Reasoning?" asked Sasuke

"Shika has his Kage Mane, a technique explicitly designed to stop the target, making it ideal for a guarding job. I have my genjutsu, and Sakura has her genjutsu and strength. And Ino has her Shintenshin. Perfect techniques for stopping people. They don't leave lasting damage, but can easily deter people from going where they're not supposed to." Kakashi nodded.

"Sound reasoning. We'll go with that. Now, who wants to help teach the brats Taijutsu?" asked Kakashi with a sadistic grin underneath his mask. Blade instantly raised his hand.

"Thought you might. Anyone else?" Fox put his hand up, along with Snake. Kakashi sighed. Those two were always together. He had to admit, what they'd done on their last mission proved that they worked well together. They almost had a mutual telepathy, so good was their unspoken communication.

"Alright then." Kakashi suddenly looked over to a picture on the wall.

"What is it, Mortis?"

"The Headmaster is requesting entrance."

"Let him in" replied Kakashi. The assassin nodded and disappeared. A moment later, the door opened to reveal the silver bearded Headmaster of the school, and Umbridge, who was currently in hysterics.

"One of them nearly killed me! Headmaster, I demand that you get rid of these guards immediately!"

"Oh, Shut the Fuck Up, woman. You're giving me a headache." Said Blade, not even turning to face the teacher.

"Itai! What was that for, Dragon?" Dragon smirked and walked back over to her shogi game.

"For being foul-mouthed. Watch your language." Martyn glared at his on-again, off-again girlfriend. Even though her specialty was genjutsu, she did have a mean right hook.

"What did you want, Headmaster?" said Kakashi, flipping a page in his book.

"I simply wanted to discuss a few things with you. That's all." He stated.

"Make her leave, then." Said Neji, not opening his eyes as he meditated.

"What? I am…"

"Not our client." Interrupted Neji. "So leave"

"Why does the Headmaster get to speak to you, and I don't?"

"You are not our client. Therefore, you have no right to hear about us or what we are going to be doing." Said Sakura, getting up. "So please kindly leave, and don't listen in, or I'm going to put you in so much pain…" Naruto and Sasuke exchanged looks. Ever since Sakura became a medic, it was not uncommon for her to beat the living daylights out of them, only to heal them afterwards and repeat the process a day later.

_"I told you she had a sadistic streak in her, teme"_

_"Shut it, Dobe. But yes, she does"_

"I HEARD THAT UCHIHA SASUKE!" said shinobi winced at the volume of Sakura's voice and knew that when their next spar came around, he was going to get hurt.

_"Ha ha, teme."_

"THAT INCLUDES YOU, UZUMAKI NARUTO! Hokage candidate or not, I'm going to punch you into next week!" Naruto was wide eyed.

"Hokage…candidate?" Sakura's hands flew to her mouth. She'd said too much.

"Sakura. Details. NOW." Sakura flinched. Naruto was using what the members of Team 7 had come to call his 'command voice'- the voice he usually used while in the midst of battle or while in ANBU uniform on a mission. It was scary sometimes, especially when coming from behind a mask with a fox detailed on it.

"Ahem."

"Oh, right, sorry headmaster." Said Naruto. "We'll talk about this later" he hissed at Sakura. She gulped. Talking with Naruto usually consisted of trying to explain yourself, dodge kunai, avoid his clones and really try to avoid the gusts of wind he'd send at you.

"Professor Umbridge, please return to your office" said the Headmaster. Reluctantly, she left.

"Alright, Taicho, she's back in her office" said Neji. Kakashi Nodded.

"Alright Dumbledore-sama, what did you want to know?"

"Do you have a basic plan for Harry's protection?" again, Kakashi nodded.

"Hogsmeade weekends will be cancelled unless we can come up with a viable solution for them. Door guards will be stationed at the main entrance at about 8 pm. No student is to pass these guards unless a teacher or one of us is accompanying them. Fifth year Classes will be escorted by one of us, and the teachers can escort the other years. There will always be at least one of us within a five to ten meter radius of Harry at all times, save when he's on the Quidditch pitch."

"I see. Thank you. I will now leave you to your selves." And with that, Dumbledore turned and walked out of the room.

"You know, I could grow to like him." said Blade. After that, the shinobi settled down for a quiet night, as Blade left for his night patrol. Neji was meditating, his favourite pastime while not training. Sakura was alternating between looking through several herb and plant books, and stealing glances at Sasuke. When they had encountered him that day in Orochimaru's base and had tried to kill them all, the crush from her genin days had vanished faster than Ramen around Naruto. When he had come back, she had treated him like he had treated her. Then, roughly a year after his probation finished, he had shown up at her door, and basically demanded that they sit down and talk. When the morning came, they were friends again. But for a while now, Sakura had been feeling something she couldn't quite place around the Uchiha. A flutter in her heart. She was falling for him again, she knew now. Sasuke was also reading, but history books, trying to find more information on this Lord Voldemort, or whatever the hell his name was. He was also glancing at Sakura. When he'd come back, he realized that he'd always liked Sakura. He cursed the fact that he'd concentrated on being an avenger, instead of reviving the clan. But, she'd treated him with a cold shoulder, until he'd finally marched up to her house and made her sit down and talk her problem through with him, and he with her. Shikamaru was playing shougi with Lee-Anne. Kakashi was, naturally, reading and occasionally giggling. Naruto was working on yet another wind technique. They guy might be clueless to anything beyond training, fighting and ramen, but in those areas, he'd proven to be an absolute wonder. Ino was reading the book that she and Ibiki had co authored. Like Sakura, she was also stealing glances at her current favourite boy: Naruto. Over the last few years, she had seen him come up with technique after technique, each one more powerful than the last, with the exception of the Rasenshuriken. You didn't get much more powerful than that technique. She had begun to admire the blonde, and had even admitted out loud that he was kinda hot. It wasn't common knowledge, but there was a sort of…bingo book…in Konoha for ninjas which listed the hottest males and females and who was the most dateable. Naruto was frequently in the top five hottest males, and had once spent nearly three weeks at the top. It was no coincidence that those two and a bit weeks coincided with when he was trying to cut the waterfall and had been training shirtless. This kind of evening was the kind that they enjoyed. Working on techniques, researching enemies. The only sounds that permeated the silence were the click of shougi pieces, Kakashi's giggling, and the turning of pages.

"hey, Lee-Anne." Said Kakashi, putting his book down for a moment.

"Yes?" replied the Kunoichi, not turning from her shougi game

"If you don't mind my asking, what is your and Martyn-san's relationship with Konoha?" There was a pause.

"I was wondering when you might ask that." The kunoichi said, slowly, moving another piece. Shikamaru moved into his thinking pose. The girl was good.

"Where should I start?"

"How about at the beginning?" Lee-Anne smiled.  
"Alright, but this might take a while."

Flashback no jutsu!

A younger Lee-Anne hopped through the trees that filled Fire Country, looking over her shoulder every now and again, to check on her pursuers. At one such time, she misjudged the distance between two branches, and plummeted towards the forest floor, somehow missing every branch on the way down. The Genjutsu expert, a former Mist nin, had quite the reputation, and being only 16 had somewhat boosted it. While she had been loyal, the girl had been hailed as the next Genjutsu Mistress of Mist. But thanks to several disagreements as to how her village was run and a nasty incident involving a rookie ANBU, and the swamps had lead her to flee the village. She was now being pursued by Konoha ANBU, who she had heard, had yet to loose a target. As she fell to the forest floor, she caught sight of a figure wearing a black cloak and straw hat moving to seemingly intercept her. As she began to near the ground, the figure stretched out an arm and almost effortlessly caught her by the back of her shirt.

"Thank you, you saved me." She said, gratefully.

"Are you being followed?" was all she got in the way of a reply. Unable to speak anymore, she simply nodded. The figure seemed to frown underneath the high collar of the black cloak. They then unceremoniously dropped her onto the ground, and moved a few meters away. Not ten seconds later, five ninja, all wearing black cloaks and porcelain masks landed in a semicircle around the figure.

"Give up the girl, and you won't get hurt, whoever you are." Stated one of the masked figures. The figure's eyes cut to the girl behind him.

"if you want her, you'll have to get through me first." One of the figure's hands vanished into the cloak. The masked figure who had spoken before seemed to sigh, and then said

"Kill him, take the girl." What happened next happened almost faster than Lee-Anne's eyes could follow. The figure suddenly spun on one foot, and his left hand shot out of the cloak, a massive zanbato with it. The blade cleanly severed the first one's head, sending it spiralling off. Barely pausing, the figure leapt into the air, the zanbato suddenly changing orientation. The massive blade crashed down onto another ANBU's shoulder, cleaving him in two. As the zanbato weilder was recovering, the third ANBU aimed a kick through one of the three holes in the massive blade. Their purpose was swiftly revealed, as with a swift twist, the ANBU's leg was snapped off at the knee. A quick spin, and the Zanbato plunged down into the ninja's torso. The fourth ANBU aimed his ninja sword at the figure's head from behind, and was quite shocked when it was dodged. The figure then abandoned his zanbato, and elbowed the ninja in the ribs, breaking two. Then the figure grabbed the ANBU's arm, and wasted no time in breaking it. A long knife materialized into the figure's hand, and was thrust into the ANBU's head. The only one left now was the apparent leader, and he turned and ran at the sight of his unit being demolished by one ninja. He got ten paces before the Zanbato took his head off, having been thrown by its wielder. Lee-Anne was in shock. This guy had taken down a five-man squad of probably the best that Konoha could offer, and still looked bored. She tried to get up, but only succeeded in falling back down. The figure was methodically stripping the ANBU of all possessions.

"You should rest. You are most likely suffering from fatigue, and probably chakra exhaustion. That's what happens when you take one too many soldier pills, you know." There seemed to be amusement in his voice. Lee-Anne growled.

"And where do you suggest I rest? I can hardly do it out here. In case you haven't noticed, I'm a…"

"Missing nin, from Kiri. I know. I'm not blind, nor stupid. You may rest at my house. It is less than an hour from our current position." The figure retrived his zanbato, and slid it back to wherever it had come from. The figure walked over to her, and offered her a hand up. She grasped it, and screamed slightly when he hoisted her up onto his shoulders with a single smooth motion.

"are you sure I'll be fine up here?"

"Yes. You are in no condition to walk. This is the easiest way to transport you. Yell if you're going to hit a branch."

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Korosu Martyn. Yours?" Grunted the newly named Martyn.

"Kuramaki Lee-Anne."

Flashback no jutsu, Release!

"And that's basically how we met." Finished Lee-Anne.

"Nice story, but you didn't answer my question. What is yours and Martyn-san's relationship with Konoha?" Lee-Anne smiled.

"I knew you were too smart to fool, Kakashi-san. Our relation ship with Konoha is basically this: We are basically ANBU, but we have to ask for permission to kill. In return, our accommodation is free, and we may stay as long as we like. We also must relay any useful information we find to Konoha."  
"That doesn't sound too bad."

"And we have to wear these tracking bands whenever we're in Konoha or on a mission for Konoha." Said Lee-Anne, motioning to a metal band around her wrist covered with seals.

"Why? Tsunade-sama wouldn't do something like that."

"You're right. It was those advisors of hers that had the brilliant idea. Something about keeping track of threats." Kakashi nodded.

"It makes good sense in theory, but what about Martyn-san's bloodline?" Lee-Anne grinned wickedly.

"He somehow forgot to mention that to them. Martyn-san can rid himself of the tracker anytime he wants, along with mine." After this most enlightening conversation, the Shinobi turned in; knowing that tomorrow would most likely be a long day.


End file.
